FARUKH SHEHZAD

The peace deal sparked celebrations in Azerbaijan but fury in Armenia, where protesters took to the streets to denounce the country’s leadership for losses in the territory, which broke from Azerbaijan’s control during a war in the early 1990s

BAKU, DEC 3 - Azerbaijan said on Thursday that nearly 2,800 of its soldiers were killed in recent fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, the first details it has released of military losses in weeks of clashes with Armenian forces.

The defence ministry in Baku said in a statement that “2,783 servicemen of the Azerbaijani armed forces were killed in the patriotic war”, adding that 100 more soldiers were missing.

Yerevan had earlier announced that 2,317 Armenian troops died during the conflict, which also claimed the lives of at least 93 Azerbaijani and 50 Armenian civilians.

The ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in a war in the early 1990s that left some 30,000 people dead and displaced many Azerbaijanis that used to live there.

Fresh clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out in late September, persisting despite efforts by Russia and the United States to broker ceasefires.

Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a Moscow-brokered peace deal on November 9 after Baku's army overwhelmed separatist forces and threatened to advance on Karabakh's main city Stepanakert.

Under the agreement, Armenia lost control of seven districts that it seized around Karabakh during the 1990s war.

The peace deal sparked celebrations in Azerbaijan but fury in Armenia, where protesters took to the streets to denounce the country’s leadership for losses in the territory, which broke from Azerbaijan’s control during a war in the early 1990s.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had described the agreement as “unspeakably painful for me and for our people”, while Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said it amounted to a “capitulation” by Armenia.

Nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have deployed between the two sides and along the Lachin corridor, a 60-kilometre route through the district that connects Stepanakert to Armenia.

Up to 90,000 people — some 60 per cent of the population — fled the disputed Karabakh region during the fighting.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

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• Coronavirus, detected only by the sound of coughing. The revolutionary program that MIT researchers are working on

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are working on a lightning-fast method to detect coronavirus - a test based solely on the sound of coughing.

ISLAMABAD, DEC 3 - Graduation Ceremony of the 48th batch of PAF Finishing School was held at the Officers’ Mess, PAF Complex Islamabad. Begum Tazeen Mujahid President Pakistan Air Force Women Association & Patron-in-Chief of PAF Finishing School was the chief guest at the occasion. The chief guest awarded certificates to the graduating students.

Begum Tazeen Mujahid congratulated the students on successful completion of their personality development programme. She also praised the standard of training at the institution and lauded the efforts of the faculty members in grooming the womenfolk of our society.

Earlier, Director Finishing School Ms. Zeba Shaukat presented a report highlighting the main aspects of the training which are aimed at transforming young girls into useful members of society.

Established in July 1996, PAF Finishing School is the first of its kind in Asia, offering various courses in communication skills, languages, management, art of self-presentation, domestic science, general culture, cuisine, protocol, art, child care, introduction to psychology and spiritual enrichment. The school is an initiative of Pakistan Air Force for the grooming of young girls and the promotion of education in the country.

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Islamabad, DEC 3 - Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Canadian organization, NextGen-U, and a Pakistan-based non-governmental organization Network for Human and Social Development (NHSD) for offering jointly certificate courses focused on public health in Pakistan.

The MoU signing ceremony was held here at the main campus of the university the other day. Prof. Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum, Vice Chancellor, AIOU presided over the session. On this occasion Prof. Dr. Zafar Ilyas, Dean Faculty of Sciences, AIOU welcomed the participants while Dr. Hajra Ahmad, Chairperson Department of Environmental Design, Health and Nutrition Sciences highlighted the aims and objectives of collaboration between the three organizations. Sohail Nazir Rana, Registrar AIOU, Dr. Fozia Moghees Executive Director, NHSD, and Prof. Dr. Erica Frank founder and Executive Director of NextGen-U signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organizations. Senior faculty members and administrative officers of AIOU were present of this occasion. 

Prof. Dr. Erica Frank and Miriam Chickering joined the ceremony online. The function was arranged by Department of Environmental Design, Health and Nutrition Sciences AIOU.

Prof. Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum while speaking on this occasion said that AIOU has been mandated with the responsibility of mass education in Pakistan. He said that his university is joining hands with national and international organizations for promotion of education and changing lifestyle of poor strata of the country by educating them. Prof Zia further said that promotion of Public health education is the dire need of the day. He hoped that the joint venture of the three collaborating organizations would play a key role in this regard. 

He urged upon the partner organizations to work for converting these certificate level courses into degree programs in the domain of Public Health. Prof. Zia Ul-Qayyum viewed that this collaboration would help Pakistani students to get international standard education without visiting aboard. He further informed that AIOU is working on collaborations with various international organizations based in America, United Kingdom, Gulf countries, etc.

The Vice Chancellor briefed the partners organization about the services of AIOU which the university provides across the country. He said that AIOU has a rich and extensive network of regional services in the areas of Pakistan where there are no educational facilities or there are very few educational facilities.

Dr. Hajra informed the participants that six certificate level courses on Community Oriented Primary Care, Epidemiology in Health, Ethics in Public Health and Nutrition, Lifestyle and Health, Environmental Health, and Climate Change and Health have been produced and approved by the statutory bodies of the AIOU and admissions in these courses would be offered in the upcoming semester i.e., Spring 2021.

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The prominence of Saint Lucia as a romantic haven has been confirmed, with the Caribbean island recognised with the title of World’s Leading Honeymoon Destination and the World Travel Awards.

The news was confirmed during a virtual announcement from the World Travel Awards broadcast from Moscow.

Saint Lucia has been recognised for the award for a twelfth time, and for the third consecutive year since 2018.

The World Travel Awards are voted for by travel and tourism professionals and consumers worldwide for the best in the tourism, airline, hotel and hospitality sectors.

The destination was also nominated in three other categories - World’s Leading Island Destination, World’s Leading Wedding Destination and World’s Most Romantic Destination.

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COURTESY BREAKING TRAVEL NEWS

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Munaza Kazmi

Pakistan is facing a second coronavirus wave, with government urging the public to follow health guidelines. But people are still not taking the pandemic seriously.

In the month of October Pakistan reported over 1,000 coronavirus cases, the first time since July, when it got the pandemic pretty much under control. In the last six days, the country has registered a huge number of new cases, that brought the total COVID-19 cases to 403,311 and 8,166 deaths.

By seeing the situation, we can say Pakistan came under the second phase of COVID-19, which could prove to be more dangerous than the first wave. Resulting those people’s ignorance who say “There exist no corona”: if so they need to meet in person with the virus….

 

Though Prime Minister Imran Khan's lead government imposed a smart lockdown to hold the virus spread. But regrettably most did not follow the SOPs. Large gatherings both religious and political were resumed in the month of July, with most people believing the pandemic was over or it never existed. Moreover, their numbers and frequency have increased in the last month, especially anti-government rallies in different cities, hoping to topple PM Khan's government.

 

Elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, which involved huge gatherings. Religious congregations, weddings continue across the country, with no regard for the coronavirus restrictions.

 

Large gatherings can make the virus transmission simpler. Furthermore, not just coronavirus but other cases are rising. If a patient, who is already infected with other viruses, catches coronavirus, his survival chances are very low. That is why this second coronavirus wave is more dangerous. Moreover, Hospitals are already short of beds. 

Medical staff is also getting infected by COVID-19. And on top of it, people believe they have achieved immunity to virus. I must relate an event here, in which my mother forced me to join a so-called wedding, where women were trying to huge forcefully, on my discomfort to it they started saying things to my mother, even thou my wearing mask was pinching and using sanitizer them. Impossible people…

 

And thanks to those unruly people, the country is under another lockdown. So far, PM Khan has ruled out the lockdown possibility. He has been arguing since March that a lockdown would ruin the country's economy. But today the government issued notice for the closure of restaurants. Our hospitality industry was in recovery phase by again a big blow. 

I wonder what would happen to the families who only have restaurants as source of income, the poor waiters, chefs, the other industries and people related to it. And what would happen of our economy to which our Prime Minister Imran Khan was long trying to save.

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Munaza Kazmi is a student of Master of Philosophy at Bahria University Islamabad. Her debut novel is Unrequited Love. 

She’s an author, columnist writing in different newspapers and a researcher having seven publications till yet, she’s been writing since 2016.

You can connect to Kazmi at twitter @munaza_kazmi or on research gate as munaza kazmi.

 

• Lufthansa Group Airlines had already made it possible for its customers to rebook their tickets free of charge in the spring.

Lufthansa Group has extended a flight change fee waiver into next year.

From today, all flights Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings can be rebooked as often as desired without incurring a charge.

The offer, originally valid until the end of 2020, has been extended to February 28th.

Lufthansa Group Airlines had already made it possible for its customers to rebook their tickets free of charge in the spring.

The abolition of the rebooking fee applies worldwide for all new bookings in all fares on short-, medium- and long-haul routes.

Customers may incur additional costs if, for example, the original booking class is no longer available when rebooking to a different date or destination.

Any difference will be compensated for by means of additional payment.

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COURTESY BREAKING TRAVEL NEWS

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Former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali passed away at a hospital in Rawalpindi at the age of 76 on Wednesday evening, his relative Senator Sana Jamali confirmed.

Jamali, who served as the premier from November 2002 until June 2004, was shifted to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology & National Institute of Heart Diseases (AFIC-NIHD) in Rawalpindi after suffering a heart attack last week.

For the last few days, he had been put on a ventilator in the Coronary Care Unit of the hospital.

The details of his funeral have not been issued as yet.

Jamali, the country's first and only elected prime minister from Balochistan, had served during the military regime of Gen Pervez Musharraf. However, Gen Musharraf sought his resignation in 2004 and he was replaced by Shaukat Aziz.

He won the 2013 general elections as an independent, but later joined the PML-N and used to sit on the treasury benches in the previous assembly.

The PML-N leadership had issued a show-cause notice to Jamali in October 2017 when he did not vote in line with the party’s policy on the bill allowing Nawaz Sharif to assume the office of the party president despite his disqualification by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case.

Jamali resigned from the National Assembly only days before the completion of the assembly’s term, citing health concerns.

He was opposed to the PML-N policy of having confrontation with the judiciary.

Condolences pour in

Prime Minister Imran Khan in a tweet said he was "saddened to hear of the passing of" Jamali and sent condolences to his family.

Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa expressed "heartfelt condolences" on the former premier's demise. “May Allah bless his soul & give strength to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss," an Inter-Services Public Relations tweet quoted him as saying.

Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) president Sardar Akhtar Mengal also tweeted out condolences.

"Deeply grieved at the death of Mir Zafarullah Jamali, former PM of Pakistan. A true gentleman full of humour and wit. Will be missed. May his soul RIP," wrote federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood.

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan and other politicians also expressed their condolences.

A long political career

Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali was born on January 1, 1944, in a small village — Roojhan Jamali — of Balochistan’s Nasirabad division into a Baloch political family of Mir Jaffar Khan Jamali, a close friend of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. His father Mir Shahnawaz Khan Jamali was not directly involved in active politics, but was a jirga member and landlord of the area.

Jamali started his schooling from his native village, but soon his father sent him to Lawrence College, Ghora Gali, Murree, from where he did his O level and A level in the early 60s. Then he attended Government College Lahore for graduation and later did his Masters in History from Punjab University.

During school and college days, he was a very good player of hockey and remained captain of his varsity’s hockey team.

As a sportsman, he continued efforts for the promotion of hockey in the country and was twice appointed as chief selector of the Pakistan hockey team. It was under his supervision that Pakistan won the Atlanta Olympics title.

During his college days in Lahore, Jamali first entered the country’s politics in 1964, supporting Ms Fatima Jinnah against the then military ruler, Field Martial Mohammad Ayub Khan, in the presidential election. His uncle Jaffar Khan Jamali appointed him as a security guard of Fatima Jinnah.

He was arrested in Lahore, along with the other political leaders who were supporting Ms Jinnah in the election, on the orders of the then governor of West Pakistan for taking part in anti-government rallies and protests.

Later, his elders advised him to focus on education instead of politics. But in 1967, after the death of his uncle Mir Jafar Khan Jamali, he decided to take up politics seriously. However, he did not join any party though his family’s other elders were affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League.

In 1970, when then-military president Gen Yahya Khan gave Balochistan the status of a province and conducted the first parliamentary election in the country, Jamali contested for a provincial assembly seat from his native constituency as an independent candidate. He could not win the seat against a powerful Sardar, Chakar Khan Domki, the son-in-law of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, due to various reasons.

After losing the election, he remained inactive in politics but after some time joined the PPP and contested the 1977 elections from the same constituency and was elected unopposed to the Balochistan Assembly. Later, he was inducted in the PPP-led provincial government as minister for information and food.

But when the PPP government was ousted on July 5, 1977, Jamali quit the party and on the offer of military ruler Gen Ziaul Haq joined the cabinet as minister of state for food and agriculture in 1982. Later, Gen Zia appointed him as minister for local government.

In the 1985 non-party based elections conducted by Zia, he contested for a National Assembly seat from Balochistan and was elected unopposed from his native constituency.

After the elections, Jamali was one of the candidates for the prime ministership. Political observers were of the view that Gen Zia would appoint him as premier but at the eleventh hour, the military ruler appointed Mohammad Khan Junejo as prime minister and inducted Jamali in the federal cabinet as minister for water and power.

After the dismissal of Junejo’s government, Zia included Jamali in the caretaker cabinet as railways minister for a very short time and then appointed him as the caretaker chief minister of Balochistan. He contested the 1988 elections for the national and provincial assemblies and won both the seats.

In December 1988, he was elected as the Balochistan chief minister with one vote's majority. But his government could not complete even one month and the Balochistan Assembly was dissolved.

In the 1990 elections, Jamali was a candidate of the Islami Jamhoori Ittihad, but he could not succeed against Mir Nabi Bukhsh Khosa of the PPP. In 1991, the Nawaz Sharif government sent him as Pakistan’s representative to the United Nations.

Jamali was once again elected to the National Assembly in the 1993 polls as an independent candidate defeating PPP’s Mir Nabi Bukhsh Khosa. In 1996, when Benazir Bhutto's government was dismissed by Farooq Ahmed Khan Laghari, Jamali was sent to Balochistan as the caretaker chief minister for the second time.

He could not participate in the 1997 elections as the government had barred caretaker ministers and chief ministers from contesting the polls. However, Jamali was inducted to the cabinet.

He was also known as Jabal Khan (Jabal means mountain in Balochi language). His uncle Mir Jaffar Khan Jamali gave him this name because during school days he would not cry even when seriously injured.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

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Former Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath, also known as the pigeon,  has chosen legendary left-arm pacer Wasim Akram among his top five picks for One Day International (ODI) bowlers.

McGrath put forth the names while speaking ahead of Australia’s third and final ODI against India on Wednesday, December 2 at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.

Named number one by McGrath, the Sultan of Swing is one of the highest wicket-takers of Pakistan with 502 wickets to his name. The former Australian cricketer has also named Australia’s Brett Lee, who is also known as one of the fastest bowlers of his generation.

The other bowlers in McGrath’s list include Sri Lanka’s stalwart Chaminda Vaas, who achieved a hat-trick in the first over of the 2003 World Cup match against Habibul Bashar’s Bangladesh.

Sri Lankan cricket coach and former professional cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan and South Africa’s Shaun Pollock are also included in McGrath’s list of favourites.

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ISLAMABAD, DEC 2 – A delegation of officers from Press Information Department (PID) Lahore visited the Virtual University of Pakistan head office on Wednesday.

The delegation was received by GM Marketing Virtual University Ms. Rubina Ali. The officials in the delegation included DG PID Mr. Saeed Sheikh, Deputy Director Ms. Uzma Saleem, Deputy Director Ms. Ishrat Akhtar and Information officer Ms. Sameera Liaquat.

PID Officials attended a meeting chaired by the Rector Virtual University Mr. Naeem Tariq along with GM Marketing VU Ms. Rubina Ali and GM VTV Mr. Babar Ali.

Matters related to news media and improving coordination between the Press Information Department and Virtual University were discussed. The delegation visited various departments of the University and was also given a presentation on the functioning and rapid growth of Virtual University. PID delegation acknowledged the important role of Virtual University for the provision of quality education across Pakistan and abroad.

They also appreciated the role of Virtual University for providing access to the knowledge through learning opportunities to the students across the country.

GM VTV Mr. Baber Ali briefed the guests about the Virtual University’s Television Network during the visit of guests to the TV Department. PID Officials appreciated the standard of education set by Virtual University and its network all over Pakistan.

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BRUSSELS, DEC 2 – The EU criticized the UK’s rapid approval of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The European Medicines Agency said its approval procedure is “more thorough”.

The UK has become the first country to approve Pfizer’s COVID vaccine and will start vaccinating next week. The decision was made in an ultra-fast approval process, which allowed the UK drug regulator to temporarily authorize the vaccine just ten days after it began examining data from large-scale studies.

In a statement, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which handles the approval of COVID-19 vaccines for the EU, said its longer approval procedure is more appropriate because it is based on more evidence and requires more controls. than the procedure chosen by the United Kingdom.

The EMA also said it would make a decision by December 29. A European Commission spokesman said the EMA procedure is “the most effective regulatory mechanism to give all EU citizens access to a safe and effective vaccine”.

June Raine, head of the UK Medicines and Medicines Regulatory Agency (MHRA), defended the decision and said that “the way the MHRA has been conducted is equivalent to all international standards”.

EU parliamentarians have been even more explicit in their criticisms of Britain’s action. “I think this decision is problematic and I recommend that EU member states not repeat the process in the same way,” said Peter Liese, an EU parliamentarian who is a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party.

Reuters reminds that according to EU rules, the Pfizer vaccine must be authorized by the EMA, but EU countries can use an emergency procedure. The UK is still subject to EU rules until it leaves the EU bloc for good at the end of the year.

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COURTESY universul.net

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